MushRumors The Newsletter of the Northwest Mushroomers Association Volume 19 Issue 1 February - March 2008

Bounty of the 2007 Mushroom Season Heralds in 2008 at the Northwest Mushroomers Annual Survivors Banquet

What promises to be one of the best Survivors income generation and a bit of ethnomycology. Banquets yet held by the Northwest Mushroomers A fascinating evening awaits! Association shall ring in what we hope will be one of the best mushroom years ever in the Pacific North- *Directions to Squalicum Yacht west. Following a bountiful fall for many edible Club at the bottom of page 5. species of mushrooms, not to mention the glut of king photo by Daniel Winkler boletes in the high country of our entire area in the still midsummer month of August, we expect to present a cornucopia of gourmet mushroom delights to adorn the serving tables of this years’ event. The banquet will be held, as it was last year, at the beautiful Squalicum Yacht Club, on Saturday, March 15th at 5pm. In addition to the exquisite potluck dinner, featuring everyone’s favorite “secret mushroom recipe”, we will also hold our traditional auction of mushroom-related items. We are very fortunate this year to have a well Mushrooms and ancient relics in Tibet traveled and extraordinary presentation of “Tibet’s Main Mushrooms” brought to us graciously by Daniel In this issue: photo by Daniel Winkler Winkler, who has forayed Fall brings Alba truffles to Pike extensively in Place Market By Kristin Dizon 2 the Asian high country in Mushroom of the Month search of the Cantherellus tubaeformis regions By Buck McAdoo 3 mushrooms, as well as NMA 2008 Calendar of Events researching (so far) By Jack Waytz 6 Mushroom habitats at 23,000 feet many other facets of the Final Foray of 2007 retrospective area’s ecology and agriculture. The program will By Margaret Dilly 7 outline information on the various species of fungi found there, as well as an overview of Tibetan culture, and the importance mushroom collecting to rural in These “evocative, earthy, and sexy” truffles will cost you By Kristin Dizon An article from a November issue of the Seattle Post Intelligencer Northwest Mushroomers Association Officers and If you want to taste the white trufle of Alba, Italy, you’ll need to fork over $4,000 apound. Contact Information That price probably makes it one of the single most expensive food items in Seattle. President: Doug Hooks 360-715-0729 Truffle season recently began, so local purveyors of fine food are or [email protected] getting shipments of the intensely aromatic, earthy fungus. Delaurenti Vice President: Fien Hulscher 360- Specialy Food & Wine (delaurenti.com) at Pike Place Market received 299-8466 or [email protected] its first half-pound batch Tuesday and had sold out by Thursday. Treasurer: Cris Colburn 360-738- Fortunately a second shipment arrived that day. 3067 or [email protected] Co-owner Pat McCarthy said the store has been selling the beloved Secretary, Book Sales and gourmet item since its start in 1946. In the past, the price has topped Membership:Vince Biciunas, 360-671- out at no more than $3,000 a pound. He said the store doesn’t make 1559 or [email protected] much money on the fungus, but carries it for passionate cooks who crave it. Mailing Address: A small truffle NMA of less than an P.O. Box 28581 inch in diameter Bellingham, Wa 98228-0581 sells for between The Northwest Mushroomers Associa- $30 and $50, tion meets at the Bellingham Public McCarthy said. Library, 210 Central Ave., Bellingham, The record- in the Lecture Room, at 7:00 pm on the setting prices this second Thursday of the months April, year are due to a May, and June and September, October, smaller supply and and November. Note: Each year one or the exchange rate. two of these meetings may be moved to “They are very the NW Room of the Fairhaven Public hard to find, Library. We will inform you in advance coupled with the of these changes. Membership dues are euro being so high $15 for individuals and families and the against the dollar, special price of $10 for students. Please it’s just exploded make checks payable to NMA and prices, ‘ McCarthy said. “But it’s a special culinary treat.” forward to: Weather, too, is a factor. Cris Colburn, membership, at the Rei Hanscomb, La Buona Tavola (trufflecafe.com), also in the Pike mailing address above. Place Market, calls herself the truffle queen. She was smitten at first taste. We need a field trip coordinator. “I fell in love”, she said. “They just got under my skin. And I could Could it be you? If so, contact Doug. It’s not resist finding a way to share them with people.” fun, and besides, someone feeds you! Describing the singular flavor of the pungent white truffle is a challenge. Hanscomb calls it, “evocative, earthy, and sexy.” Its flavor MushRumors is published every other shoots straight from the taste buds to the brain, and that distinct taste month (roughly). Deadlines for submis- can be confused with no other. sions are the 15th of odd-numbered Hanscomb’s truffle-hunting sister-in-law lives in Italy and connects months. (Of course, exceptions will be her to suppliers. Hanscomb likely will get some white Alba truffles made in the event of fungal finds of next week and thinks she’ll be able to price them about $3,000 a unusual import!) pound. Editor: Jack Waytz “This is actually shaping up to be the worst year in truffle history. Phone: 360-752-1270 or It was hot and dry over the summer. It stunts the growth of the [email protected] truffles,” she said MushRumors c/o Jack Waytz But a small truffle goes a flavor mile. “The good news is that if its P.O. Box 28581 good quality, you don’t need a lot,” she said. “You can do nice stuff Bellingham, WA 98229 with a half ounce truffle.” www.northwestmushroomers.org Continued on page 6, column 2

2 Mushroom of the Month Cantharellus tubaeformis (Fries ex Fries) By Buck McAdoo

Sometimes called the Winter Chanterelle, this essentially edible, thin- fleshed member of the Cantharellaceae can often be found a month after our regular chanterelle has ceased to fruit. Unassuming and often mistaken from the aerial view for just another fiber- head, Cantharellus tubaeformis may possibly be the most controversial mushroom we have yet handled in a newsletter. Not only are there a full range of opinions on the edibility, but the name of the species itself has jumped back and forth like a football on a rugby field. For those of our readers who don’t enjoy the Latin names, ‘Cantharellus’ is Greek for ‘vase’. The name ‘tubaeformis’ is Latin for ‘trumpet’. Thus, the Trumpet Shaped Vase is your best bet for linguistic accuracy. The problem is… the Trumpet Shaped Vase has long been confused with the Funnel Shaped Vase, or Cantharellus infundibuliformis, the Latin name we are most accustomed to associating with this species in our area. For years it has been debated up and down and across two continents whether they are the same species or not. Dr. A.H. Smith separated them by spore print color. The late Dr. Harry Thiers listed the main differences. Cantharellus tubaeformis had white to pale yellow spores, yellow to orange-yellow stems, and yellow-gray to yellow- brown caps. Cantharellus infundibuliformis, on the other hand, had yellow to ochraceous spores, lemon yellow stems, and gray-brown to black-brown caps. Others have described these cap colors as dull orange to orange-brown to tan. There were, in fact, so many different combinations of cap colors to stem colors and eventually even spore colors that Dr. Bigelow and Dr. Ron Petersen came to believe we were all looking at variations of the same species. Dr. Thiers finally agreed, and in his Cantharellaceae of California, which has the most complete description of the species, he listed C. infundibuliformis as a synonym of C. tubaeformis. This is good news for us. It means that we no longer have to tell people at our forays that we can’t put a name to it until we go home and get a spore print. Caps of Cantharellus tubaeformis are 1 ½ - 6 cm. wide, thin-fleshed, at first convex with incurved margins, and then umbilicate to funnel shaped with wavy, irregular margins in age. The surface can be smooth or fibrillose-scaly, the fibrils slightly darker than the base color. The colors vary from tan to orange-brown to dark brown with all sorts of variations in between. To complicate the picture, Von Frieden suggests that caps are hazel-yellow in dry weather becoming dark brown in damp weather. The center of the cap is often perforated, leading directly to the hollow stem. The gills are blunt to ridge-like, yellowish to buff or pale cinnamon at first and then grayish to lilac-gray in age. They are deeply decurrent, usually forked and somewhat intervenose. They have also been described as waxy in appearance, which suggests an affinity with Hygrophorus. The stems are 4-8 cm. long and ½ - 1 cm. thick. They are smooth, tough, often flattened or grooved, and generally hollow. (Kauffman believed that stems of C. infundibuliformis were hollow from the beginning while those of C. tubaeformis were solid at first, becoming hollow in age.) The stem colors range from pale yellow to yellow-orange to even grayish yellow in age. The odor is pleasantly aromatic and the taste bitter to mild. The spore print can be white to yellow or ochre or even pale pinkish buff in the Appalachians. What causes this variation in spore color, I have no idea. The spores, according to Thomas, measure .00035 to .00045 inches long. Cantharellus tubaeformis prefers cool, wet forests with acid soils and is usually found next to rotting stumps or logs or its favorite habitat – decomposed logs that have just turned back into soil. It has also been found in sphagnum bogs. Its growth habit is gregarious to clustered, and more rarely cespitose. Although not particularly common, it can be found all across the northern hemisphere, down through Appalachia in the eastern U.S., and from Alaska to San Francisco on the Pacific Coast. Cantharellus tubaeformis, that innocuous little mushroom being tossed around in your pasta, has had a tumultuous nomenclatural history from the very beginning. According to Watling & Turnbull, Elias Fries himself was confused. What he originally called Cantharellus tubaeformis in 1821, he later changed to Cantharellus infundibuliformis in 1838. The former name became a different species. Fries had initially inherited the name ‘tubaeformis’ from the Dutch mycologist, Persoon. The mistake was made in 1838 when he accepted the Scopoli name of C. infundibuliformis, not realizing it was identical with the earlier C. tubaeformis. Dr. Lorelei Norvell informed me by email ‘that it took a number of years for this mistake to be uncovered, and during that time folks thought that C. infundibuliformis was a different fungus than C. tubaeformis. (Let’s try over a century and a half.) Since C. tubaeformis was the earlier name used, C. infundibuliformis became an illegitimate name. The good news is that we no longer have to pronounce ‘in-fun- di-bully-formis’ to puzzled people at our forays anymore. 3 Now that the correct name had been unearthed, it was important to conserve the name in the International Code of Botanical Literature. Dr. Norvell headed up a Committee for Fungi which recommended to the Botanical Congres in Vienna in 2005 that the name Cantharellus tubaeformis be conserved, and alas, she is happy to report that today it is conserved on page 425 of the appendix to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. This should keep the name C. infundibuliformis from cropping up again. But this is far from the end of the story. There are still problems with the taxonomy. Olle Persson notes that due to recent DNA studies, Cantharellus tubaeformis, along with other leathery, thin-fleshed members of Cantharellus, now belong in Craterellus. Dr. Lorelei agrees with this assessment. However, this coming attraction cannot yet be made because of more complications revealed by the DNA studies. The DNA data suggest that our west coast C. tubaeformis is different from the European C. tubaeformis. This means a new name will have to be found for ours, which is temporarily being called Craterellus neotubaeformis nom. prov. until that new name emerges. Furthermore, according to the authors of the New Savory Wild Mushroom, European mycologists believe that our west coast C. infundibuliformis probably represents a group of species differing slightly from one another. If so, these species would need to be clarified before the new Craterellus name could emerge. Fortunately there aren’t too many look-alikes if you discount the variations in the species itself. The closest relative might be Cantharellus infundibuliformis var. lutescens, an all-yellow variety not to be confused with Cantharellus lutescens. Chrysomphalina chrysophylla can mimic the colors and cap texture, but it has a flaccid cap, true gills, and belongs in the Omphalina group. If you focus on the ridge-like gills, small tan to brownish caps, yellowish, hollow stems, and the tendency to fruit near rotten logs, you can be pretty confidant in your identification. Unfortunately, you still have to decide whether to eat it or not. There are indeed conflicting reports on the edibility of the C. tubaeformis complex. While most authors agree that it is edible but not nearly as good as our fleshier chanterelles, there are a few who urge caution. Orson Miller, Kent McKnight, and Dr. Edmund Tylutki all report mild gastrointestinal disturbances from eating the species. My guess is that these reports are out of Idaho since all three of these mycologists are either from there or have spent time there repeatedly. My personal experience is even worse. A friend’s girlfriend became violently ill from eating it in San Francisco back in 1982. While Peter and I felt no ill effects, she had to be taken to emergency to have her stomach pumped out. The collection was probably from Mendocino County. Since then, I have heard of no cases remotely similar. In fact, Mike Beug, recent past president of the Pacific Northwest Key Council and a member of the committee that reports on mushroom poisonings in our region, tells me there are no negative reports concerning C. tubaeformis. And as you can imagine, there are varying opinions on the flavor. Dickinson & Lucas write, ‘experts disagree about the food value of this fungus. It is very tough, often dry and fibrous, and has a bitter taste.’ A.H. Smith also didn’t think much of it. In one book, he wrote ‘not edible.’ In a later guide, he amended his opinion to ‘not recommended. Edible but not very good.’ On the other hand, Lorelei Norvell and David Pegler, a past president of the Kew Botanical Garden in London, both deem it a choice edible. Arora writes that it has a good flavor, especially when dried-sauteed. He notes that it is commercially harvested in Finland. Olle Persson, author of The Chanterelle Book, adds that ‘it is only in the past 50 years that Cantharellus tubaeformis has become popular in the kitchen, and now it is even being served in soups in restaurants. Because of its long shelf life, it is one of the few wild mushrooms sold in Sweden today.’ The Chinese have found a different use for C. tubaeformis. They found that extracts of sporophores have inhibitory action on certain species of bacteria. Now that we have sampled the opinions of the mycologists, it is time we turned to the chefs. In The Ultimate Mushroom Book by Jordan & Wheeler, the authors note in their culinary section that the species dries well and can be preserved in virgin olive oil or wine vinegar. They also note, ‘they are very versatile in cooking, with an extremely nice, sweet flavor that goes especially well with fish.’ Jack Czarnecki calls C. tubaeformis and other small chanterelles the ‘chop suey’ chanterelles because that is what they look like in the pan when most of the liquid evaporates. He thinks the flavor is not bad, but not particularly distinct. He also writes that drying is the only method of preservation. While cautioning that a few people have reported mild digestive discomfort after eating Cantharellus tubaeformis, Bessette & Fischer claim that most people enjoy it. They note that ‘it is highly regarded by many mycophagists, not only for the aromatic flavor and delicate texture, but for their almost flower-like appearance. They suggest that dried specimens can be pulverized and added to various dishes as a flavoring. To back up their claim to fine dining, they even have a special recipe for Cantharellus tubaeformis.

The Trumpet Chanterelle Omelet ½ tsp. salt ½ cup chopped green pepper ¼ tsp. black pepper ½ cup minced onion dash of hot sauce 3 tblsp. butter 1 tblsp. minced parsley 2 cups trumpet chanterelles, beheaded 4 eggs ¼ tsp. mace ¼ cup light cream ½ cup grated cheddar cheese First sautee the onions and green peppers in 2 tblsp. of the butter. When tender, add the mushrooms and cook down until liquid is evaporated. Add spices and seasonings. In another pan, melt the remaining tblsp. of butter and pour in the whisked eggs and cream. When nearly set, sprinkle in the cheese and top with the mushroom mixture. Cook another minute, fold, and serve. Jack Waytz, your editor, actually tried this recipe, and this is what he has to say about it:

4 In past years, I had never found this mushroom in enough quantity to really consider trying to prepare a recipe in which it was featured. However, at precisely the end of the regular chanterelle season, upon checking one of my favorite spots near home for the last gasp of chanterelles, I discovered that although I was late for them, there was an unbelieveably thick crop of Cantharellus tubaeformis in their place. I harvested them and upon arriving home, promptly called Buck, who quickly furnished this recipe. Whatever criticism of the flavor of this mushroom you have read should be utterly disregarded. I was very pleasantly surprised at its quality, a very unique and distinctive flavor. Late next fall I will definitely be on the prowl for this diminutive version of the chant- erelle again. Nonetheless, because of random reports of discomfort from eating the Trumpet Chanterelle, I would suggest trying a small amount at first to determine whether you are affected negatively by it or not. Then, if you are good to go, there is more good news on the horizon. Peter Jordan informs us that they fruit in the same location several years running, so you can mark your spot, and come back for more. Finally we would like to thank Dr. Mike Beug for looking up the Northwest poisoning report for us, and Dr. Lorelei Norvell for all her information on the latest taxonomical and nomenclatural problems associated with C. tubaeformis. Never forget the words of one of our mycology sages: The mushrooms never change-only our opinions of them do.

Bibliography David Arora, All That the Rain Promises and More, 1991. David Arora, Mushrooms Demystified, 1986. Bessette & Fischer, Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America, 1992. Stefan Buczacki, Fungi of Britain and Europe, 1989. Jack Czarnecki, A Cook’s Book of Mushrooms, 1995. Dickinson & Lucas, The Encyclopedia of Mushrooms, 1983. Karen & Richard Haard, Foraging for Edible Wild Mushrooms, 1978. Miron Hard, Mushrooms, Edible and Otherwise, 1976. Jianzhe, Xiaolan, Qiming, Yichen, & Huaan, Icons of Medicinal Fungi from China, 1987. Jordan & Wheeler, The Ultimate Mushroom Book, 1995. Calvin Kauffman, The Agaricaceae of Michigan, 1918. McKenny, Stuntz, & Ammirati, The New Savory Wild Mushroom, 1987. Kent & Vera McKnight, Peterson Field Guides – Mushrooms, 1987. Orson Miller, Mushrooms of North America, 1971 (?). Lorelei Norvell, Preparation for a Key to the Cantharelloid Fungi of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Pacioni & Lincoff, Simon & Schusters’ Guide to Mushrooms, 1981. David Pegler, The Mitchell Beazley Pocket Guide to Mushrooms and Toadstools, 1981. Olle Persson, The Chanterelle Book, 1997. Ronald Rayner, Hamlyn Nature Guides – Mushroom & Toadstools, 1979. William Roody, Mushrooms of West Virginia and the Central Appalachians, 2003. A.H. Smith, The Mushroom Hunter’s Field Guide, 1977. Harry Thiers, The Agaricales of California: Cantharellaceae, 1985. William Sturgis Thomas, Field Book of Common Mushrooms, 1928. Edmund Tylutki, Mushrooms of Idaho and the Pacific Northwest, Vol.2, 1987. Lucius Von Frieden, Mushrooms of the World, 1969. Watling & Turnbull, British Fungus Flora 8. Cantharellaceae & Gomphaceae, 1998.

Directions to Squalicum Yacht Club

Take Exit 253 off I-5, on to Lakeway Dr, heading west. At the Ellis street light, the road becomes E. Holly. Stay in middle lane thru downtown, and take a left at Central Ave, at the bay, and then a right on Roeder Ave. Follow on Roeder 0.7 mile to take a left turn on Coho Way, (LSF is on the corner), then in short block, take the first right onto North Harbor Loop, and you’re in the parking lot. The boat house is a single story building on your left.

5 clean up the leftovers and are treated to wonderful Northwest Mushroomers Association mushroom omelets created by our chef Fien. 2008 Calendar of Events We spend Saturday hunting for mushrooms and Our meeting dates for the year (second Thursday of have them identified in the afternoon. We then enjoy the month at Bellingham Public Library, downtown, 7 refreshments and conversation before potluck. PM) will be It is an event you don’t want to miss. Since we are April 10 limited in space you need to get your application in May 8 early. June 12 I will have application forms at the Survivors Sept 11 Banquet and at the April Meeting. This is a great event Oct 9 so I hope to see you there. Nov 13 If you have any questions you may contact me at [email protected] or call (360) 675-8756 The April 10th meeting will feature Nancy Smith *At the time of publication, it seems vastly unlikely Weber of Corvallis, OR. Ms. Weber is a lifelong that record snows will recede by the time May 9th rolls student of mycology, being the daughter of Alexander around. We are actively engaged at trying to procure a Smith, and the author of numerous mushroom guide later date for Tall Timbers, or perhaps try another books in her own right. This promises to be a very location suitable for our morel adventure. Updates interesting and educational presentation. will be sent out as soon as we have news - Jack

Our Annual Wild Mushroom Show is scheduled for Truffles continued from page 2 Sunday, October 19th, at Bloedel Donovan Pavilion. Hanscomb suggests keeping it simple: pasta with butter, Mark your calendars, and more on this later. quality Parmesan, and a shaving of white truffle, or truffle mashed potatoes. Morel Madness 2008 By Margaret Dilly She said there’s a good alternative for those who love truffle flavor but blanch at fresh truffle prices. Hanscomb carries a white truffle oil (not artificially flavored, like some) for $19.95 This year our annual Morel Madness will be the for 500 millileters. Or, fresh black truffles from Italy are $500 a Mothers Day week-end May 9th,10th.11th*. With a pound. little luck the weather will warm up and melt all the The longer a truffle sits, the more moisture, and thus, flavor, it snow so we can find some morels. Like everything loses. So, Hanscomb makes sure to sell them three to five days out of the ground. else the Tall Timbers camp fee has increased so our Time is of the essence, too, for Dale and Betsy Sherrow at nightly fee will be $20 per person or $40 for two Seattle Caviar Co. (caviar.com). They bring in white truffles only nights plus a $2 registration fee. when ordered by clients, so the truffles don’t sit for more than 24 A brief summary of the even for all you newcomers: hours. We have secured two self contained buildings on the Dale Sherrow the white Albas will likely sell for about $4,000 a pound. Some clients are shocked by this year’s price, but grounds of the Tall Timbers Presbyterian Camp people still buy. located north of Lake Wenatchee. It is situated in a “There is a good and consistent demand in this marketplace beautiful cirque with mountains on three sides and a for luxury food goods,” he said. river on each side. Each sleeping room contains a Sherrow is also bringing in an Iranian Osetra sturgeon caviar, double bed and a set of bunks and a vanity sink. which he called some of the best wild caviar in the world. He’s not sure what it will retail for yet, but its per-pound price also Cedar Hall, one of our buildings, is just for likely will be $4,000. sleeping and the rooms are equipped the same as “An ounce of white truffles goes a lot further than an ounce of Schultz Hall, where we convene for meals. Schultz caviar,” he added. Another reason that white truffles are so has a kitchen, dining and living area and two bath- expensive is that there’s a 100 percent tariff on them. The season, rooms and two bedrooms on the first floor. In depending on weather and other factors, lasts until about the end of the year. addition to the six bedrooms on the 2nd floor there are two toilet and shower rooms. We are responsible Many thanks to club memberNadine Lihach for furnishing for our own meals except for Saturday night, when this “tasty” article. we have a potluck and Sunday morning when we 6 Bowman Bay Foray Nov. 10, 2007 Bowman Bay Foray November 10th, 2007 Species List By Margaret Dilly Gilled Fungi Lepista nuda Lepista tarda Agaricus arvensis Leucopaxillus albissima Just a brief note about the fall foray as it seems so far in the Agaricus campestris Leucopaxillus amarus past. Claude and I arrived shortly after 9am and were greeted Agaricus comptulus Macrolepiota rachodes v. with some of our early bird members who graciously helped Agaricus hondensis bohemica carry the foray supplies down to the shelter and then help get a Agaricus moelleri Macrolepiota rachodes v. fire going. (praeclaresquamosus) rachodes It was a beautiful sunny day and about 30 to 35 eager mush- Agaricus rodmani Marasmius plicatilis room hunters showed up to try their hand at foraying for wild Agaricus silvicola Mycena sp. (5) mushrooms. Many were new members and this was their first Amanita muscaria Pholiota sp challenge. Psathyrella hydrophila photo by Margaret Dilly Amanita porphyria There were Amanita smithii Russula brevipes. many mush- Armillaria ostoyea Russula crenulata rooms found Bolbitius vitellinus Russula gracilis but few edible. Chroogomphus tomentosus Russula rosacea However those Clitocybe deceptiva Russula xerampalina few were Clitocybe dilitata Russula sp. (4) cooked up by Clitocybe inversa Strobilurus tullisatus Fien our super Clitocybe nebularis Stropharia ambigua chef and Clitocybe prunulus Suillus brevipes enjoyed along Clitocybe sp. Suillus caerulescens with the Collybia sp. Tricholoma magnivelare wonderful Fungi-gals have serious fun at Bowman Bay Coprinus comatus Tricholoma saponaceum potluck meal. Cortinarius sanguineus Tricholoma terreum I was Cortinarius sp (3) pleased with the great interest in identification of mushrooms and Cystoderma amianthinum Non-Gilled Fungi hopefully in the near future we can hold some classes and create Cystoderma fallax more identifiers. Buck McAdoo, Harold and I identified as many Cystoderma granulosum Aleuria aurantia fungi as time and knowledge allowed. Some species we were Gomphidius oregonensis Boletus chrysenteron unable to ID went home with Buck to work on with his micro- Gymnopilus spectabilis Boletus zelleri scope. Often times this is the only way to positively identify Gymnopilus sp. Cantharellula umbonata these wonderful photo by Margaret Dilly Hebeloma crustuliniforme Clavulina cristata little creatures. Hygrocybe conica Hericium erinaceum This year Lepista Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca Hericium abietis nuda, the Hypholoma capnoides Fomitopsis pinocola blewett, which is Hypholoma fasciculare Helvella lacunosa usually abundant Inocybe albodisca Lycoperdon perlata was very scarce Inocybe pudica Phaeolus schweinitzii as were Inocybe sororia Pseudohydnum Cantharellus Inocybe sp. (3) gelatinosum formosus, the Laccaria. bicolor Ramaria sp. (5) yellow chant- Laccaria amethysteo-occidentalis Psathyrella sp. erelle. Lactarius deliciosus Suillus caerulescens Glorious weather and lots of fungus. A perfect day. There were Lactarius olympianus Suillus luteus six species of Lactarius tomentosus Tremella mesenterica Agaricus identified but only four of them edible. This was the Lactarius sp. Trametes versicolor first time I had seen Agaricus rodmani here on the island. It is a Lepiota cristata Tylopilus pseudoscaber medium sized solid mushroom with a smooth white cap and a Xylaria hypoxylon distinctive double ring on the stem, one ring flaring up and the other down and it grows in hard packed soil. It is also is edible. I shall have to watch for it. By mid afternoon as it began to cool and with the helpful hands of our loyal mushroom friends, we packed up all the supplies, redeposited of all the unwanted mushrooms back into the woods from whence they came and headed for home, contented to have ended another mushroom year.

7 These juicy joys of spring were found in Whatcom County in March of 2001 on burned cardboard! Where will they make an appearance this year?

MushRumors c/o Jack Waytz P.O. Box 28581 Bellingham, WA 98228-0581